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Gardeners' Notes:

If you grow this in your garden and engage in plant trading, PLEASE warn the people you're trading with that they may receive some of this plant hitchhiking on the plants you're giving away. In many places this is a noxious weed, and in practice it is nearly ineradicable. It spreads like wildfire. It is highly resistant to most herbicides. Several states have declared it a noxious weed or invasive.

Many gardeners are surprised and disappointed when they realize that the flowers are open for only a few hours a day, during work hours.

Unlike many other naturalizing bulbs, when it invades lawns (which it inevitably does) its clumps of foliage leave unsightly holes in the lawn for the rest of the season when they go dormant. This is because its summer dormancy starts much later than with most small bulbs, too late for the grass to fill in.

It is also very poisonous. It is dangerous when it spreads into a vegetable garden, because the bulbs are easily mistaken for onions etc.

A good substitute for star-of-Bethlehem is Ornithogalum balansae. It looks very similar, blooms earlier in the spring, and is easily and cheaply obtained from the sellers of fall bulbs. Unlike star-of-Bethlehem, it isn't in the least invasive.

Here in Israel, Ornithogalum umbellatum is a Winter wildflower of the Coastal Plain, and it can be encountered in February in both natural and ruderal situations. In Mediterranean Western Europe it is, however, listed as a perennial weed of vineyards and orchards. I have photographed it as far North as Bratislava, Slovakia, so I guess it is a rather successful species.

This plant showed up in my garden one year. I have no idea where it came from. I liked the plant and wished the blooms lasted longer. It would come up year after year and it never spread like I am reading in these comments. I had no idea it was a problem plant. Maybe because I am in zone 5?

I spent over ten years trying to get rid of this...I know why one website called it a "garden thug". It is. Now I've given up and simply enjoy the mid-May flowers. In fact, neighbors and passers-by ask for it's name when they see it in bloom. I tell them. And I warn them. When the foliage appears, it is a true sign of Spring. Then the flowers: Gorgeous -- very dependable. However, this bulb/corm is a royal pain. Enjoy it, but BEWARE. Or share the wealth and offer some to others. It can be the Ultimate Gardeners' Revenge.

Are the comments here referring to the same Star of Bethlehem flower used frequently for weddings or in bridal bouquets? Here is an example of what I am speaking about: http://www.wholeblossoms.com/flowers/star-of-bethlehem-flowe...
I was doing a search on how to arrange this flower and came upon this post...however, now I'm a little worried since the comments are not all that positive. Please advise since I don't want to make the mistake of ordering Start of Bethlehem and end of having a flower that many of you despise. Thanks so much!

This little invader ranks second on my "Most Undesirable Plants" for the garden (Aegopodium podagraria, aka Bishop's Weed, is the first). I have no idea where they came from, and they just started appearing every year in ever-increasing numbers. I spent spring and early summer digging up every plant I could find, however, some of the bulbs were quite deep and I was surprised at the number of bulblets from one plant, so it remains to be seen if I got them all out of the iris beds.

Because it and so many other plants are invasive, I cannot understand why nurseries still sell them. The U.S. Forest Svc. lists it as a "potential threat to native vegetation." With a little research, many gardeners can find great native groundcovers instead of waging a losing battle with the likes of Star-of-Bethlehem & Bishop's Weed.

On Apr 3, 2010, joneski from Hastings, NE wrote:
Very invasive. Pretty soon it will cover my neighborhood, not just my large yard. Last year I was obsessed (literally) with digging them up, drying them out and getting them as far away as possible. They apparantly became angry because they are now everywhere, in places they could not just spread to but had to jump concrete. They are growing in the bricks! Please tell me what to do, other than sell my house

Horrible plant!!! Can't get rid of it. It grows everywhere, in between brick paths, through other plants, into the lawn, it just takes over and grows so FAST! I did to try and get out the bulbs, but it breaks off into dozens of smaller bulbs that get left behind. So far, haven't found anything that kills it. Short of covering my whole lawn in plastic and hoping that kills it off, not sure what to do. STAY AWAY FROM IT!!! You'll be sorry if you plant this into any part of your yard. Trust me.

Terrible, invasive. Goes everywhere. Each year I try to get rid of it. It takes forever to bloom and the green plant is tough and slimy. Makes a real mess when you first mow in the spring. I grows over the regular grass and smothers it out so after it dies back you have big dead spots in the lawn.

Many years ago, a neighbor planted some of this among her flowers. Over the many years since she moved away, it has spread into all of the neighboring yards, including mine. We don't have any animals around, and just keep mowing over it, knowing that it will probably come up thicker, next year. It drives my retired next-door-neighbor to have a reason to mow the yard every other sunny day in the spring!

This plant has a really attractive flower that only opens when the sun shines so is not much of a contribution to the Pacific Northwest garden as those days are at a premium here. I dug it out of a vacant lot and simply love the flower but they only appear on mature bulbs(I am experimenting to find out how big the bulb must be to flower) As pointed out the plant produces copious amounts of bulblets which grow grass-like foliage in huge amounts and tend to overwhelm any flowers that DO appear.I have dug up most of the Family groups in my bed and tossed the small bulbs, replanting the largest in hopes of a better display. Will keep you posted!

I just found this plant in my garden today. Actually, it's been there for a year now, but today I noticed the flowers on some of the plants. (there are probably 10 or so plants scattered on the mound I've built which surrounds my deck. After reading the warnings about this plant, I plan to dig them up. Although the flower was a pleasant surprise, it's not worth the trouble it seems to bring. I sure am glad I did a bit of investigation! Thank you all, for your comments. Quite helpful!

We found two of these in our backyard this year and thought they were so pretty. Then my black lab ate some and became horribly ill. I know it was these plants because I saw them again, if you know what I mean. This was not just eating grass sick this was go to the vet sick. It did this to a one hundred pound dog! I just dug up the two plants & burned them. There must have been fifty little bulbs on each one! I know I'll have to watch for them next year, too. Very pretty - but non-native & very poisonous!

Highly invasive. Check on web for more info: all parts of plant said to be poisonous to people and livestock. Will spread everywhere through seeds and small bulbs. Difficult to eradicate and will contaminate your soil with bulbs so you can not share starts of other plants. Grows thick and shades out other plants including grass in spring and then dies back so summer annual weeds move in . Do not plant and begin to eradicate it if you have it as it invades pastures and native plantings with vigor.

These flowers are a very pleasant surprise in our yard. They provide green very early in spring when little else is green. The flowers bloom when little else is in bloom. They do well in both sun and more shaded areas. The foliage dies down quickly after blooming, and it doesn't seem to be invasive here.

I received this plant misidentified as something else in a trade. So I planted it believing it to be something else. I since have forgotten what it was supposed to be but I wasn't over thrilled when it became Ornithogalum umbellatum.

I'm not too concerned since I have it cornered in by a sidewalk with other potentially thuggish plants like Campanulas. If they spread, they're not going through concrete.

Not being very showy or having any other redeeming qualities, I'm going to get rid of it.

One of these beautiful little ones popped up in my yard a few years back- I loved it & actually, still enjoy it's delicate beauty but EXTREMELY invasive!!!!! Last year I literally spent hours trying to excavate the zillions of baby bulbs( it has spread throughout my yard, flowerbeds & even to my neighbors across the street!), to no avail! I give up! Soooo, if you don't want it, get rid of it fast!

This plant can be pretty, (but nothing special) in tall grass areas or wildflower gardens. But it is too unkempt and rambunxious for most gardens. It can be very difficult to eradicate. The super-hardy bulbs multiply quickly and can grow from great depths. Pulling will not get the job done as the leaves generally break leaving the bulbs in place. In hard soils pulling is simply not an option. The soil must excavated and then be vigilant in removing young plants as the emerge over the years. Many gardeners mistake its winter growth for crocus.

This is such a beautiful, deceptively delicate looking flower. I suppose if you wanted to get rid of them, it would be a problem, but I can’t see myself wanting to get rid of them. The foliage appears in mid winter, and it is always nice to see something emerging then. I have them growing in an area that most other plants want to die, and they seem to thrive on neglect. Another name for it is Dove's Dung . . . have no idea how that one came about. Blooms in May in my garden.

This Star of Bethlehem grows in a variety that has a yellow and light green center, with stamens that are dark yellow and there is always one that is longer and white. I don't know what variety the one I have photographed it. It grows in nice bushy clumps, about 2' tall, in a partially shaded area in Tucson, Arizona. It obviously can stand up to heat waves. Today when I saw this plant and photographed it, it was 110 degrees.

I was initially pleased when this plant appeared in my garden--it is mentioned in "Lost in the Stars." But it has proven to be horrendously invasive, rapidly spreading in the course of a year or two from my garden to now taking over the lawn. I've tried Round-up at the normal concentration-- it knocked the foliage down, but next spring it was back, denser than ever! (The plant spreads by seeds, each fruiting plant probably produces 100,s of seeds, and by bulblets. Even a 1 cm bulb produces 1-2 bulblets, and a more mature, 1-2yr old bulb will 20-30 bulblets.) I've been digging them out, but that's a loser. Anybody have a solution??

This beautiful little plant cropped up in my garden voluntarily (with the help of squirrels, I imagine). I enjoy its welcoming blossoms in spring, but have found it to by highly irritating to skin. Handle with care and keep children away. It reproduces rapidly in zone 5B.

This plant planted itself in my garden (only a couple plants) and for a "weed" it is pretty cute and attractive albeit not astonishingly showy.... it could be a nice groundcover where a short flowering one was wanted.... flowers don't last long and or seem to close at night or on overcast days.... no fragrance..... Apparently easy to grow since it popped up in my garden with no help! Not very invasive though.... has not spread or become troublesome.....

This grew in my parents' yard when I was a child (1960s) and was not invasive but slowly spreading. This was between Seattle and Tacoma in what is now called Sea-Tac (inside the perimeter of the since-expanded Sea-Tac Airport). I spent years searching for it in the UK, where I now live, and finally found it this spring in a plant sale at Powis Castle, Newtown, Wales.

A native of Asia Minor that is naturalized in north Alabama. The leaves appear in the fall and produce flowers in mid spring. The plant is very invasive, especially in lawns. However this habit is useful in creating a large-scale winter and spring groundcover. A common local name is starflower.

This plant has become invasive in my pasture, where my
sheep graze. I have read that this plant is poisionous, and
am very concerned about how to eradicate and control it.
Will my sheep die if they eat it?

When I pull this plant up, it has hundreds of very tiny
bulbs, growing in clumps. I also found several on top of a post, where a squirrel had taken it. While this plant is
pretty, it is of grave concern, in places it is not wanted.

I like the overall appearance, but it seems that before it really has a chance to bloom, it's been flattened by the wind. Maybe it needs a little more sheltered area. We transplanted it from an overgrown flower bed on an old farm site and it has returned every year for 15 years, but hasn't spread significantly.

This is a lovely little plant, that is a legacy of the previous owners of my house. It thrives in a small corner of a border garden and does not appear to be very invasive. It flowers late spring and is gone by early summer. The foliage remains green most of the summer. It is partial sun, but remains out of the strong Virginia sun until late in the day.

A nice surprise to see this perky little flower blooming in mid spring in my zone 7. The leaves start shooting up in January, pretty white star shape blooms follow soon. They do multiply freely by bulbs, but have not found them invasive. After blooming, the leaves die down until next spring.

I grew this pretty Spring flowering bulb under a Natchez crape myrtle tree in a sunny raised flower bed in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, for several years. It does spread rapidly, but the Dutch iris, crocus, daffodills and hyacinths managed to compete with it, and they all contributed some early Spring color after Atlanta's dreary grey and brown winters. It was an easy care plant that came and went with the season, and by late Spring was forgotten as my perennial purple drumstick ornamental onions, maroon hollyhocks, and annually planted nasturtiums took this particular bed.

I purchased my bulbs in 1998 in packages at a Walmart garden center in the Atlanta area, so I do not believe they are very hard to find. You just have to look during the gardening season that these bulbs are sold, which would probably be in the Fall for Spring flowering bulbs.

I love the Star of Bethlehem flower. I accidentally obtained one bulb when I was given a bunch of other bulbs for our new house. My Star of Bethlehem has been a constant reminder to us of a very good friend of ours who has passed away and often commented about it. I have read that it is very invasive but mine is not.

I collected this from an old homesite I was redeveloping (source of many plants) - it was thriving, but blooming very little as shade had become dense. It is extremely invasive in places where it won't even bloom, deep shade.
Now I can't get rid of it. Beware! (this habit is reported by many garden authorities).

This plant is HIGHLY poisonous. Keep away from children and pets. My mother had it in our yard up North. It grew wild and was very hardy in the cold, damp climate of NY State. Very pretty, just becareful with it.

I got some of these bulbs from my mother, they were on the property when she purchased her house, the house is 100 years old and we don't know how long these bulbs have been there but they naturalized a hillside and are beautiful. They must have well-drained soil or they won't bloom. Her soil is clay. She now grows them on the hill around her pond amongst other perennials.

I like this flower very much. We spent the weekend trailing Hocking Hills in Southern Central Ohio. What a hidden wonderland!! During the day and a half walk we only found one 'Star of Bethleham" blossom and it was near a bench we sat to eat lunch. I'd like to know where I can purchase some seeds for this beauty!!